Lakeland, Fla. - The Southeastern men's soccer team defeated the Truett McConnell University Bears 2-1 in an overtime thriller on Thursday night. The Fire have not lost a home opener since 2012.
Both teams played solid defense to start the match. The Fire failed to convert on five shots in the first 27 minutes of play while limiting the Bears to only one shot during that stretch.
However, sophomore forward Joao Costa intercepted an errant pass in the 28
th minute and knocked in his team-leading eighth goal this season. The score put the Bears on the board and in the lead 1-0. The Fire could not convert any of its four shots the rest of the half into scoring opportunities and trailed the Bears 1-0 going into the half.
The Bears held their one goal lead for the majority of the second half. Freshman goalkeeper Evan Gaffney recorded five saves through the first thirty minutes of play in the half.
However, as the home crowd began to intensify their cheers, the Fire intensified its level of play to match the atmosphere. Junior forward
Tauan Salgado netted his third goal of the season off a cross from sophomore midfielder
Jonathan Jimenez to tie things up at 1-1 in the 83
rd minute. Time expired in regulation with the score tied up 1-1 so for the fourth time this season, the Fire played overtime.
"This team has been resilient the whole season. We've been down a goal in similar situations and have fought back in those games. I think that believing in what we are doing is getting this team through those adversity moments," shared Head Coach
Clay Roberts.
The Fire have experienced heartbreak in extra periods several times this season, but tonight that would not be the case. In the 98
th minute, senior forward
Pedro Ivo Dias wound up with the ball off a deflected pass and planted one in the top of the net from 20 yards out to give the SEU the victory on its home pitch.
"We have the best fans in the country. They showed up tonight. They were the twelfth man for us. They got us through that, I believe," commented Coach Roberts.
The Fire will stay at home to host Florida National University on September 24
th at 4 p.m.
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